I finally acquiesced and chose a name for my bike today, too... "Bhenchod." Given our relationship it's the only possible name I could have chosen. It seems to have cracked the guys up quite a bit, except one man with no sense of humor.

How is this the only name you could come up with? I'm not sure how much that slang is used in India but assume it could be offensive to some. I think there must be a better name for your Bullet.

...what a mess...enviro hazard...got more oil everywhere...changed filter and installed oil packing piece and magnet.....got it all finished...should have followed advice on making some sort of diverter over exhause when pulling quill bolt plug?...wiped exhause..but still smoked like crazy..ha ha...

Yesterday I got down to the dealer and grabbed a new oil filter. Poured some Seafoam in the oil and ran it to the store and back, then drained out the old and filled it with new. Added some Lucas gunk to hopefully quiet the noises It's making. Took off the distributor cap to adjust the timing and one of the plate bolts came out with the screw. Had a hell of a time separating those. Thought I'd check the gap just for the heck of it and found it was .024! Didn't have time to adjust that... tonight hopefully.

Fork discussions seem to be all the rage in the forums right now. And after reading Bare's fork oil change report, it inspired me to change my fork oil too. I have bigger issues with the bike, but what the heck... fork oil is cheap.

My forks were sticking like crazy. I'd come to a stop at a stop light and they'd dip and just stay there till the engine vibration worked them free again.

I ordered some Maxima "high performance" fork fluid (10wt) from Amazon, and grabbed a little measuring cup dealy from a local motorsport shop. First off, the drain bolts would not budge! Wound up whacking my wrench with a mallet a handful of times before I finally got them to turn. Are they really supposed to be that torqued? I drained the oil into the measuring cup to see how much was in it (there was 150 cc in each). The oil was filthy... I mean REALLY filthy (see pic). I decided they needed flushing, so I capped them off again and dumped in some petrol then got on the bike and pushed the nose down a dozen times. Drained that gunk out (black again!) and let them air dry for a couple hours. Replaced the top seals with some appropriate size o-rings and filled it with 200cc of crystal clear new fork oil.

Took it for a test drive and they're definitely better, but still a bit sticky. Perhaps they'll improve over time.

Today I swapped my front "skidmaster" for a k70. Then I wire brushed the rust off the hub and sanded the chrome to prep for painting. I figured I might as well enamel the front rim while I have it off. The chrome really bugs me on this military bike. Sometime I'll probably have the rims powder coated, but for now rattle cans will do. To mask off the tire I deflated it, cut up some junk mail, inserted it between the rim and tire, and re-inflated the tire, then finished it off with some masking tape.

Removed the foot pegs on my just purchased 01 Bullet, welded a nice bead on the "flats" of each where they contact the footpeg mounts. Then filed the welds down just so the pegs sit parallel with the ground instead of drooping (like they are bent down) Aligned the rear fender stays with the rear wheel so the fender is centered instead of cocked to one side. Disassembled the shift linkage as it was bound up and shifts were crap. Removed rust from shaft and bushings, cleaned, relubed, now operates smooth as silk. Removed Goldstar Replica silencer and polished it up. Re-routed the modified breather hose from alongside the fender stay to under the fender alongside the wiring harness. Much tidier. Lubed the clutch cable, brake cable, adjusted the throttle cable. Major difference in operation Lubed the speedometer cable. Installed nos Gran Turismo grips and Halcyon mirrors. Installed British made gas cap. Installed wingnut on timing inspection cover. Next it's on to dialing in the carb for lower altitude, and polishing/waxing....and waiting for some other tidbits to arrive from Hitchcocks.

Rode my '99 Deluxe today...tightened the KS lever,it had slipped about 1/3 of the way off of the shaft!Re-mounted my solo seat-cover last Sunday with SNAPS,instead of those awful,rusty,formerly black split rivets and bent finger slicing tabs...will re-mount the pillion cover this Sunday,pix to follow...